Dangerous Obsession
by Free Quill
Summary: It started as a mutual attraction that lead to an obsession. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Full summary: AU. It started as a mutual attraction that lead to an obsession. Lily Evans and Sirius Black were the perfect couple. James Potter and Sirius Black were closer than brothers. When a forbidden liaison begins between Lily and James they must hide their affair else it destroy the bonds of love and friendship that have taken a lifetime to forge.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

AN: So, I've edited this story and just changed a few things around. Anyone who's already read the first two chapters may want to re-read them. And I know the song is about a man cheating on a woman, and not vice versa, but work with me.

_She says her love for me could never die,  
But that'd change if she ever found out about you and I._

_Oh - but her love is cold,  
It wouldn't hurt her if she didnt know, cause..._

_When it gets too much,  
I need to feel your touch._

_I'm gonna run to you,  
I'm gonna run to you,  
'Cause when the feelings right, I'm gonna run all night,  
I'm gonna run to you._

_She's got a heart of gold, she'd never let me down.  
But you're the one that always turns me on,  
You keep me comin round._

_I know her love is true,  
But it's so damn easy makin love to you!_

_I got my mind made up,  
I need to feel your touch! _

_- Run to You, Bryan Adams_

Chapter One

"La da dum, back to school for me," Lily Evans hummed absently as she brushed out her long auburn hair. It was the morning of September the first, and Lily was getting ready to go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for her final year. However, unlike every other year, this year she would be returning as Head Girl.

Lily finished brushing her hair and then scrutinized it in her mirror. _Gah, I wish it would cooperate! Why does it have to be so… red! And big!_ Lily had always tried to make her hair do what she wanted, and, much to her annoyance, her hair seemed to delight in doing the exact opposite. Many people called it her crowning glory, but Lily didn't believe that for a second. "Look at it!" Lily would rant to anyone who would listen. "It's big and wavy. _Wavy!_ Who wants wavy hair? Why can't it just be curly like I want it? You know, those ringlet-y curls?" Lily smiled, thinking about the speech she knew by heart, and all the poor people who had been forced to sit through it countless times.

She examined the rest of her, and was happy enough with what she saw. She was 5'6", a height she found respectable for a girl. She had _finally_ developed curves in the last year, and was now nicely proportioned. She was still slim, but now she had a good amount of curves to offset it. Sirius always assured her that he loved the way she looked. She had pale skin, a few freckles on her nose, high cheekbones, full lips, and bright green eyes, which were her favourite feature. Lily knew she was considered pretty, but, in her opinion, she could never compare to some of the other girls who went to Hogwarts. She sighed as she turned away from the mirror to finish her packing.

After double-checking she had everything packed, Lily looked at her watch and swore when she realized that it was past the time at which she had decided to leave. She raced down to the kitchen at top speed to tell her parents it was time to go.

"Mom, Dad!" Lily called, tearing into the kitchen at breakneck speed. "It's time to go! I don't want to be late! I can't be late, I'm the Head Girl!" She stopped, hands on knees, gasping for breath. "Come _on_,"she added exasperatedly as she saw her father leisurely eating some eggs and reading the morning paper.

Lily's father looked up from his paper, and then checked his watch. "Lily, we still have an hour before we have to get there, we'll make it in plenty of time," he said, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "You're such a worrywart."

Lily stood up to her full height, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at her father with all the energy she could muster. "I am not!" she spat indignantly. "I just want to be the first one there. I'm Head Girl this year, and I should be there to greet the other students. So let's go!" she added, grabbing her father's arm as he chuckled. "Come on Dad," she whined, giving him her best pouty face. "_Please?_"

Her father looked at her solemnly, but he couldn't hide the laughter in his eyes. "I don't know, Lil, there were a few things I wanted to do around the house before we leave. You don't mind if I mow the lawn first, do you?" he asked, watching in amusement as Lily began to get worked up

"I certainly do mind!" Lily said huffily, crossing her arms over her chest, annoyed, knowing her father was just pulling her leg, but unable to stop her reactions.

Lily's mother chose that moment to walk into the room, and chuckled at the sight before her. Her daughter was turning beet red and stomping her feet, and her husband was leaning back in his chair with a smile.

She walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Lily, you know your father is just joking," she said placatingly. "You know he likes to rile you up."

"Yeah, I know," Lily said sheepishly. "He just knows how to push my buttons."

Lily's mother smiled warmly down at the daughter whom she was going to miss so much. "So I gathered. Go grab your things, and we'll drive you to the station."

Lily leapt out of the chair she was sitting in. "Thanks Mom, I'll just be a sec," she said with a huge smile, before turning and rushing from the room.

She hit the stairs running, taking them two at a time in her haste. She happily levitated her luggage, something she could do, since she was officially seventeen. As she bounced down the stairs, she thought about her last year at Hogwarts and what it would bring. Adventure? Maybe. Drama? Probably. Work? Most definitely. Lily had her work cut out for her this year. But she knew she was up to the challenge.

She reached her parents' car and levitated her luggage into the trunk, as the car was in the garage, so no unsuspecting Muggles would witness this bit of magic.

Lily and her parents climbed into the car and took off, driving the familiar route that would take her to King's Cross Station for the last time. At this thought, Lily smiled wistfully before drifting into memory of years gone by, thinking about how much she would miss Hogwarts when she was gone.

"Hey Lil," her father said, looking at her in the rear view mirror, jolting her from her thoughts of the Gryffindor common room. "I know we already asked you this, but who's the Head Boy again?"

"Oh, um…" Lily paused for a second, thinking hard, "I'm pretty sure it's James Potter." Yeah, she remembered Sirius mentioning it in one of his owls earlier in the summer. Lily and James didn't know each other very well at all, despite the fact that Lily was dating his best friend. Of course, because of Sirius, they had tried to get to know each other. Sure, they'd tried conversation. They'd tried enough times to know that they apparently had absolutely nothing in common, other than Sirius. Their conversations always turned out stilted and awkward. So, after about half a year of constant, uncomfortable attempts at becoming friends, they had realized it simply wasn't meant to be. And they were comfortable with that fact. It meant they didn't have to talk to each other unless necessary, which was preferable over their forced conversation. So, Lily and James now peacefully coexisted. They talked to each other if need be, but that was pretty much it.

"And is he a nice boy?" her mother asked, continuing the previous conversation.

Lily smiled. Her parents were worried that this boy she would have to work with all year wouldn't be nice to her. Plus, they were probably worried about her sharing living quarters with him. "He's nice enough, I guess. I just don't really know him that well. But, he _is_ Sirius' best mate, and I trust his judgment."

Her mother's face brightened at Sirius' name. She always had liked him. "Oh, and how is Sirius? You two doing well? It's been nearly two years now, hasn't it?" her mother chattered animatedly.

"Yeah, about a year and a half," Lily said with a smile, thinking about him. They had been dating since partway through their fifth year, and Lily had never been happier.

The rest of the ride passed in relative silence, with Lily remembering all her happiest memories with Sirius, all of which took place at Hogwarts.

_Our first walk by the lake. _

It had been just after her fifth year started, just as the sun went down. Lily had been ecstatic when Sirius had asked her to join him for a walk. They were the only two outside.

_The first time we held hands. _

That had been on another walk, two weeks after the first. Sirius had been so shy about it, but Lily had never felt the kind of connection with any other boy that she felt when Sirius had taken her hand.

_Our first date. _

It had been a Hogsmeade trip, naturally, and Sirius had foregone all of his much-loved shops, like Zonko's and Quality Quidditch Supplies, in favour of going with Lily to her favourites.

_Our first kiss. _

They had been watching the sunset, and Sirius had said he had never seen anything as beautiful as Lily in the light of the setting sun, right before kissing her. It was the most romantic moment of her life.

_When he asked me to be his girlfriend_.

He had set up a fancy picnic where he had told Lily he had never felt this way about another girl, and Lily had happily agreed to be his girlfriend.

_Our first fight._

Lily smiled about it now, but at the time, she had been so upset. It was about something stupid, Lily couldn't even remember what anymore. She had started avoiding Sirius after the fight, but he had tracked her down in the library and gave her the most beautiful apology she had ever heard, telling her he was sorry and he never wanted to lose her. This was also the first time he told her he loved her.

_Our first year anniversary._

Sirius had taken her out to dinner in a fancy restaurant in Hogsmeade during one of the Hogsmeade weekends, and they had a romantic dinner by candlelight.

Then there were all the small things he would do. He would bring her flowers for no reason. He was always able to cheer her up when she was sad. He would come and bring her soup and her homework when she was sick, although he would have to get a girl to bring it up to her, as boys couldn't climb the staircase.

Lily was so deep in her reminiscing that it took her by complete surprise when they arrived at the station.

"We're here, Lily," her mother said, turning around in her seat and smiling at her daughter. Lily's head jerked up in surprise.

"Oh, already?" she asked, a bemused expression on her face as she got out of the car.

Her father ruffled her hair affectionately as he passed her on his way to the trunk. "You must have been in another world, kiddo. We were taking to you!"

"Oh, sorry," Lily said, her cheeks tingeing pink. "I was thinking about Hogwarts." Her parents nodded as the three of them unloaded the luggage from the car, sans magic.

Lily put all of her luggage onto a trolley and led her parents to the entrance of platform 9 3/4. Since they were both Muggles, they couldn't enter and had to say their goodbyes there.

Lily hugged her parents, promising to write frequently to them and assuring them that she would miss them just as much as they would miss her. She also promised them that she would say 'hello' to Sirius for them, laughing at this request.

"What's so funny?" her mother asked with a confused smile.

"Nothing," Lily replied. "I just never thought Dad would like any guy I brought home. It's just so weird that he actually _likes_ Sirius."

Lily's father grinned. "I agree, it's unnatural," he said. "But the boy's too damn _nice_! It's impossible _not_ to like him. Plus, he's polite, and he treats you well. Not to mention I can see how much he means to you."

Lily smiled before giving her parents a wave and running through the barrier into Platform 9 3/4. She had never gotten into the habit of casually walking through. Once through the seemingly solid wall, she stopped to take in the familiar chaos of the station thirty minutes before the train would pull out. She was most certainly _not _the first one there, as she had hoped she might be. The station was _packed._ There were kids everywhere, saying goodbye to their parents, meeting up with their friends, boarding the train. Lily absorbed the sight of the scared first years who didn't want to leave their parents, the cocky second years who were happy not to be those first years anymore, and so on, up to the self-assured but nostalgic seventh years who were preparing for their final trip.

Lily quickly scanned the crowds for her best friend, Jacqueline Dubois. She didn't see her, although she saw many other people she knew. Lily made her way to the train, saying 'hello' to everyone she recognized.

Eventually she managed to get onto the train and began scanning the compartments for Jacqueline. She found her about halfway down the train, reading a book. Knowing Jacqueline, it was likely to be a romance. The two of them were both a little addicted to romance novels. It was an enjoyable escape to a world of perfect men.

As Lily slid the compartment door open, Jacqueline looked up. "Hey Lily, you look great!" she said, jumping up and hugging Lily.

Lily took her friend by the shoulders and gave her a good look. "Wow, Jacqueline, you look awesome! I love your hair like that! I can't believe you actually cut it!" Jacqueline was the same height as Lily and had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Before the summer her curly hair had been very long, but she had cut it so that it bounced just above her shoulders.

"Thanks. So how was your summer?" Jacqueline asked as she helped Lily to store her luggage away on the racks. The two girls sat down across from each other and began to catch up on what had happened over the break.

The girls talked until the train began to pull out, with frequent interruptions from friends and acquaintances they hadn't seen all summer, including the boy Jacqueline liked, Adrian Duclairc. He came in just as the train was picking up speed, and Lily made her excuses and left the two of them alone.

_They're so gonna get together. It's so obvious_, Lily thought as she began searching the compartments for Sirius. The sounds of loud laughter led her to the right compartment, where she pushed open the door and entered.

Sirius looked over at the door as it opened, and seeing whom it was, he leapt up. "Hey Lil!" he said, giving her a kiss. "It's been two whole weeks since I've seen you! How are you?" he asked, his gray eyes twinkling. Lily examined him as the two of them settled on one side of the compartment, his arm around her waist, across from Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

Sirius was the most handsome man Lily had every seen, she mused, looking at his smooth black hair that always fell into his steel gray eyes and just brushed the collar of his shirt. He had a smile to die for, which was enhanced by his square jaw, she added, watching him laugh at something Peter had said. And at 6 feet tall, he was very broad-shouldered and quite well built from all of his Quidditch. All in all, he made Lily's heart turn over just by looking at her. He was broad and muscled and manly, exactly the kind of man she wanted.

"Hi Remus, hi Peter. How are you?" she asked, looking at the two boys. Remus was Sirius' height, but much thinner, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was very handsome, but he always seemed tired, for reasons Lily had always been suspicious about. Peter, on the other hand, could, at best, be described as cute. He was a head shorter than the other two, and on the plump side. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. However, to make up for his looks, he was very nice, and could be quite funny.

"Oh, by the way," Lily said, turning to look at Sirius. "My parents said to say 'hi' to you. They love you, and I can't for the life of me figure out why!" she teased, kissing Sirius on the nose when he began to pout. "So what were you guys laughing about when I came in?" she asked, changing the subject. The boys looked at each other and grinned before launching into an elaborate, and surely exaggerated, story about some prank they had pulled over the summer.

* * *

"And then he said, 'but I don't _like_ green!'" Sirius finished, leaving the four of them bent double with laughter, tears streaming down their faces.

By the time they calmed down, Lily realized that there was someone missing. "Hey, where's James?" she asked glancing around the compartment. Suddenly it hit her. "Oh no! He's in the Heads' compartment! Where I'm supposed to be! _Holding a Prefects meeting!_" Without another word Lily ran out of the compartment, leaving the three boys laughing at her forgetfulness. It was so unlike her.

Meanwhile, Lily had slid through the door of the Heads' compartment just as James was closing it to begin the meeting. "Sorry I'm late," she muttered in James' ear as she passed him.

"It's okay," James mumbled back as he turned and faced the Prefects. "Hi, everyone. I'm James Potter, and this is Lily Evans," he said, gesturing to himself and Lily in turn. "We are this year's Head Boy and Girl," he continued before looking at Lily, waiting for her to continue. Lily took a deep breath, straightened her shirt, and launched into her introductory speech, feeling more and more relaxed as she talked. This was where she belonged; she had worked hard for six years to be where she was today, and she was not going to do anything to screw that up.

"I have a lot of things I want to do this year…"

* * *

An hour went by, and with it came the retreat of the Prefects, back to their friends as the meeting finally drew to a close.

"Whew," Lily said, dropping onto a seat. "I think that went well," she added as she reached for the bag she had dropped on the floor earlier and pulled out the latest book she was reading.

"Yes, it did," James said, disappearing behind his copy of the Daily Prophet. The two had to stay in this compartment, so that if anybody needed to search out the Head students, they would know where to find them.

The rest of the trip passed in silence as the two read. It might have seemed odd, that the Head Boy and Girl were ignoring each other, but Lily and James were used to not talking. They would say 'hi' in the halls, and even occasionally talk about homework or the weather, but that was more or less the extent of their conversation.

Although she and James weren't on the friendliest of terms (or really, on any terms), Lily had no worries about their working relationship. Whenever they had had to work on a project or assignment together for a particular class, something that was bound to happen after six years of nearly identical schedules, they had worked together quite well. They each shouldered the burden equally, and were both highly intelligent. Lily knew he had been the obvious choice for Head Boy, and she had no problem with that.

* * *

A few hours later, Lily looked up from her book to see James folding his newspaper. "We're just about there," he said, standing up and straightening his robes. "We should get ready to go." Lily closed her book and stood up as well, peering out the window. She could just make out Hogwarts in the distance. She figured that the train was less than five minutes away.

"Alright, let's go, then," Lily said, leading the way to the door and out into the hall. By the time they made it to the front of the train, it was slowing down. When it stopped, Lily and James held open the doors as the rest of Hogwarts poured out, most moving towards the carriages, only the first years going elsewhere.

Lily waved and said 'hi' to all of the people she knew, just as James did. When Jacqueline walked by, still with Adrian, Lily winked at her and wiggled her eyebrows with a wicked grin. In response, Jacqueline trod on Lily's foot, causing her to let out a yelp that made several people look over at her with curious expressions.

Sirius, Remus and Peter also stopped to chat with the two of them before racing to see who could get to the carriage first. Lily shook her head in amusement as she saw them running towards the carriages, laughing and pushing each other on the way, each trying to get there first.

After the train was finally empty, Lily and James walked over to last remaining carriage. Once there, James held the door open, allowing Lily to climb in first.

"Thanks," she said, settling into a seat, James sitting across from her as he climbed in.

"You're welcome," he said, and the two lapsed into silence each looking out the window as they drew ever nearer to Hogwarts, basking in the glow of being back, although they both felt a tinge of melancholy in the air, as they each knew that it would be for the last time.

Once they reached the school, the two followed the crowd in, and once they got to the Gryffindor table, Lily followed James to where the Marauders were sitting.

"Hey Sirius!" Lily said, leaning down from her standing position to give him a kiss.

"Hey Lil," Sirius said, kissing her back. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to say 'hi' before I go and sit with Jacqueline," Lily said, smiling at her boyfriend and ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Okay, come and see me in the common room before you go to bed. You and James have new living quarters, right?" Sirius asked, a slightly envious look on his face.

"Oh, that's right!" Lily said, laughing at his expression. "Oh, don't be jealous. You'll probably be up there all of the time, between James and I," Lily consoled him before continuing. "Anyway, I'll come see you later. Bye!" she called over her shoulder as she went to sit in the spot Jacqueline had saved her.

"Oh, look!" Jacqueline exclaimed as Lily sat down. "There are the new first years! They're so small! And look how scared they are. I remember when that was us," Jacqueline said with a laugh before adding wistfully. "It feels like just yesterday."

"Yeah," Lily agreed, looking nostalgically at the Sorting Hat as it was placed on the first child's head. "I can't believe it's almost over."

Jacqueline turned and grinned at her. "Don't worry about it, Lil. We still have a whole year ahead of us. Our most exciting one yet!" The girls settled into silence as the rest of the Sorting went on, cheering when new students were put into Gryffindor.

After the last student was Sorted, the feast began. Lily and Jacqueline happily ate as much as they could, chatting animatedly between mouthfuls, speculating about the coming year, who had changed the most over the summer, who had gotten together, and who had broken up. "Speaking of couples…" Lily said, looking sidelong at Jacqueline. "What's up with you and Adrian?"

Jacqueline blushed and looked down at her plate. "Well… I don't really know. I like him but… I don't know how he feels. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes." Jacqueline blinked and then laughed. "Wow, I guess I've finally matured. This time last year, I would have been whining, 'does he like me? Does he like me?'"

Lily laughed along with her friend. "Don't worry. It's obvious he likes you too. Just give him some time." At this point, the feast had just ended, and Dumbledore stood up from his seat and gave the school the usual start-of-term announcements before allowing everyone to leave.

Jacqueline stood up and started to leave before realizing that Lily was not with her. "Hey, you coming?" she asked, turning around, a questioning expression on her pretty face.

"Can't, remember? I have to go see Professor Dumbledore. James and I have our own rooms," Lily reminded her friend.

"Oh, that's right!" Jacqueline said, smacking her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Hey, I want to see them! How about you show me tomorrow?" At Lily's nod, Jacqueline began to walk away. "See you tomorrow. Good luck with the new rooms!"

Lily waved goodbye to her friend before making her way over to James and Dumbledore, who were standing together by the professors' table.

"Hello Miss Evans," Dumbledore greeted her. "I hope you had a good summer." At Lily's nod, he continued. "If you two will follow me, I'll show you where you will be staying," he said, his eyes twinkling as they so often did.

"Mr. Potter, did you get much flying in over the break?" he asked conversationally as they walked. They spent the rest of the way chatting lightly about this and that, until they reached a painting that depicted a field of flowers with a little girl nestled amongst the long grass, playing 'he loves me, he loves me not' with a daisy.

"Password?" she asked in a childish voice.

"I've taken the liberty of choosing a password for you," Dumbledore said, looking at Lily and James. "It's 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus'. As you know, that is the Hogwarts motto, and it means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon'. Make sure you remember it, as it is the only way into your rooms. Also," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly at James, "do not tell anybody else this password. It is meant for you two alone. Good," he said as the two nodded their heads in acquiescence. "Then I will leave you to your rooms. Good night," he said, turning and walking away before Lily or James could say anything.

The two looked at each other for a moment before Lily said, "Alright, let's go in, then," before turning to the little girl and saying, "Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus."

The portrait opened and James stood back to allow Lily to go through first. She climbed through the portrait hole, straightening to her full height once she was out. Once James had stepped through, he stood beside Lily and they both observed the room. It was about a quarter of the size of the Gryffindor Common room and painted a deep blue. There were two comfy-looking armchairs and a couch with a coffee table in front of it, all grouped around a stone fireplace. There was a half-full bookcase with room enough for any books Lily and James had, which stood against a wall beside a desk that was twice as long as a normal desk, with two chairs placed in front of it and two sets of drawers down the side. There was also a big bay window with a cushioned window seat in it, which overlooked the Quidditch Pitch.

"Wow," Lily said, her mouth hanging open. "This is incredible!"

James smiled as he walked over to the desk, pulling open the drawers and looking inside. "Blank parchment, that's it. Yeah, this is pretty great."

The two of them continued to examine the room for a few minutes before deciding to look at their own rooms. They walked up the single staircase and split up at the top, Lily going to the left, and James to the right. Right at the top of the staircase was the bathroom. Lily walked into her room (at least, judging by the plaque on the door, it was her room), which was painted a deep, forest green, her favourite colour. There was a nice four-poster with a cream comforter, a dresser, a night table, a wardrobe, and a vanity table. All of it was done in a cherry wood. Lily walked to the window where she peered at her view of the Great Lake for a minute, before turning and looking at her room again, nodding as she found she quite liked it.

Lily decided to look at the bathroom next, the one place she hadn't seen yet, with the exception of James' room. Lily walked over to the other door in her room, figuring that it lead to an adjoining bathroom, which it did. She entered the room to see James already in there, putting some of his personal items away. The bathroom was painted in a rich spice colour, and was very large. The stand-up shower took up a large part of one corner, its frosted glass winking in the brightness of the overhead light. The bathtub was large, square, and inground with five or six taps with different bubble baths. The sink and bathtub were a beige marble, and the sink had space for toothbrushes and other personal necessities. The bathroom was lit only by the overhead light, which gave the room a warm glow.

James' door was open, and Lily quickly peeked in. It was done in a light gray that managed to not look drab or boring, and his comforter was in a much deeper shade of gray. Otherwise, the room was the same as Lily's, minus the vanity table. He instead had a mirror over his dresser.

"This is pretty nice," James said as he dropped his toothbrush into the holder.

"I'll say," Lily agreed. She walked over to the bathtub where she turned on each of the taps in their turn, so she could smell what bubblebaths were there. She breathed in deeply as she smelled vanilla, her favourite scent. _This is heaven_, Lily thought, looking at the deep bathtub in admiration.

After her exploration of the taps, she turned to see James placing his last item (a razor) in one of the cupboards. The two of them both left the bathroom through a third door that lead into the hall between James and Lily's rooms at the top of the stairs. "Well, I'm gonna head to Gryffindor," James said as he made his way down the stairs. "Did you want to come?" he asked, looking over his shoulder as he walked over to the portrait hole.

"Sure," Lily replied, hurrying to catch up with him. "I promised Sirius I'd come," she added in explanation. James nodded.

The two left their dorm and headed towards the Gryffindor common room, walking, as was their way, in a silence that was not quite uncomfortable. Once they had climbed through the portrait hole at the Gryffindor entrance, Lily looked around the room to see if Jacqueline was in there, but she was nowhere to be seen. _Probably with Adrian_, she thought to herself as she headed for Sirius. She looked over her shoulder and saw James heading towards his other friends.

Sirius tried to split his time up fairly between Lily and his friends, generally eating most of his meals with the guys and hanging out with them half of the time. They got Friday night, Lily got Saturday night. Any classes he shared with both Lily and the guys, the guys took precedence, and Lily didn't mind. After all, he had been friends with them long before they had started dating. Beside, Lily also had Jacqueline to hang out with.

"Lil!" Sirius said, jumping to his feet to give her a hug when he saw her. "How are the rooms? Are they really cool?" he asked, settling down on the couch again and pulling her into his arms.

Lily snuggled up to his chest contentedly. "Yeah, they're amazing. You have to come see them sometime. You'll love them!" she told him with a smile before reaching up to pull his face down to meet hers.

Lily hung out with Sirius for a couple hours, just talking and cuddling on the couch by the fire. Once it reached about half-past eleven, she checked her watch and realized she ought to head off to bed.

"Sirius, I've gotta go," Lily said, giving him one last kiss.

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back onto his lap, where he kissed her again.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Lily said, giggling. "It's time for me to go to bed! We have class tomorrow." Sirius groaned at this remark, never one to be overjoyed at the mention of class.

"I know but-" he was interrupted as Lily kissed him.

"Alright, night Sirius. I love you," Lily told him as she stood up.

Sirius stood up as well. "I love you too, Lil." He pulled her into a hug before pushing her gently towards the entrance. "Night."

Lily climbed out the portrait hole, looking over her shoulder as she did so. Sirius was looking at her, so she blew him a kiss just before the portrait closed.

Lily walked back to the Heads' rooms. She yawned as she said the password to the sleepy little girl, and once she climbed through the portrait hole, she headed immediately for the stairs. When she reached the top, she realized that James must still be in the Gryffindor common room, as his door was open and he hadn't been in the Heads' common room. She shrugged it off. After all, he was of no concern to her.

Lily entered her room and got ready for bed before climbing in and turning out the lights. Her new bed was very comfortable. She was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, slipping off into a world of dreams of the year to come.

_I'd swim across lake Michigan,  
I'd sell my shoes.  
I'd give my body to be back again,  
In the rest of the room._

_To be alone with you._

_You gave your body to the lonely,  
They took your clothes.  
You gave up a wife and a family,  
You gave your goals._

_To be alone with me._

_- To Be Alone With You, Sufjan Stevens_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

_He's more than a man,  
And this is more than love,  
The reason that this guy is blue,  
The clouds are rolling in,  
Because I'm gone again,  
And to him I just can't be true._

_- Unfaithful, Rihanna_

Chapter Two

In what seemed to be an inordinately short amount of time, Lily's alarm clock went off, waking her from a deep slumber. She groaned and rolled over, yawning widely, noticing as she did so that the shower was running in the bathroom next door. _James must be up_, Lily thought to herself. _I'll just rest my eyes until he gets out of the washroom… _

Lily awoke with a start some time later at the sound of a knock on the door separating her bedroom from the washroom. "The washroom's all yours," James called through the door.

"Thanks," Lily croaked out. She waited until she heard another door closing, which she knew meant James had walked into his room, before getting out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom, desperately needing a shower in order to wake up.

A short amount of time later, Lily was feeling fresh, invigorated and much more awake, due to her shower. After getting dressed and throwing her hair into a ponytail, she made her way down to breakfast where she knew Jacqueline would be saving her a seat.

Jacqueline was absorbed in the Daily Prophet as she absentmindedly ate a piece of toast, but she looked up when Lily sat down across from her. Lily didn't even say anything before Jacqueline gave her a questioning look. "Why are you so chipper?" she asked, looking at the brightness in Lily's green eyes.

"Oh, just excited for our first day of seventh year," Lily said, piling her plate with food, nonchalantly tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, as though she hadn't just said something blasphemous to all students.

Jacqueline let out a soft snort. "Only you," she muttered under her breath. Lily pretended she didn't hear the comment. She instead began to eat quite rapidly.

Jacqueline stared, her fork halfway to her mouth. "What's your hurry?" she asked, still watching the astonishing rate at which Lily was inhaling her food.

Lily paused for a moment. "I want to get to our first class early! I'm Head Girl! I have a reputation to uphold, you know, " Lily said pompously, holding her nose up in the air, causing Jacqueline to laugh. As soon as she finished talking, she began shovelling food into her mouth again.

"McGonagall will probably be here any second to give us our timetables," Jacqueline said, looking down the table, where, sure enough, McGonagall had just started handing out timetables.

Once the girls had got their timetables and had finished eating (Lily far before Jacqueline, who believed in eating at a more moderate pace), they made their way out of the Great Hall and to their first class of the day, with Lily urging Jacqueline to walk faster all the while.

* * *

Hours later, after the last class of the day was over, Lily finally found herself back in the Heads' Rooms, where she dropped heavily onto the couch, letting out a deep sigh of relief. Almost immediately though, she groaned, remembering the huge amount of homework she had received that day. She reluctantly pulled her Charms textbook out of her bag, intending to begin some background reading for what promised to be a rather difficult essay.

Lily had just finished reading the first chapter of the textbook when the entrance to the Heads' Rooms banged open and James trudged in, carrying his bag, his tie loosened, shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, shirt untucked, and robes slung over one arm. He fell onto the chair across from Lily's couch, letting out a sigh that sounded much like Lily's earlier one.

"Tired?" Lily asked, looking up from her work.

"You have no idea," James said in a monotone, slouching even further into his seat.

Lily continued on with her work as James merely sat with his eyes closed, his head tipped back against the back of the chair. After a few minutes of this, James seemed to feel he had recuperated enough to attempt to stand once more, which he proceeded to do, whilst also gathering his robes, bag and shoes. "I'll see you later. I promised Sirius I'd go flying with him," James said as he climbed to stairs to his room.

"That's nice," Lily said absentmindedly, deeply immersed in the second chapter of her Charms text.

Lily worked diligently on her Charms homework until she happened to glance at her watch and realized that dinner would be starting shortly. _Whoops, must have lost track of time_, she thought to herself, grinning at the fact that _homework_ of all things would make her do that. She packed her books and scrolls away and then hurried down to the Great Hall to eat.

Once she reached the Hall she had to pause and scan for Jacqueline's curly hair, unsure of where her friend was sitting. While she was searching, she unintentionally caught Sirius' eye. He waved at her and she blew him a kiss in return, before she finally spotted Jacqueline near the end of the table. "Hey," she said to Jacqueline, plopping down in the seat across from her.

"Hey," Jacqueline said, her mouth full of mashed potatoes. "What have you been up to? You didn't come by the Common Room. James was there for a bit, before he and the guys left somewhere."

Lily piled her plate high with everything she wanted before answering. "Yeah, I actually started on my homework," she said with a cringe, waiting for Jacqueline's response, which was much milder than she had anticipated and merely consisted of an eye roll and a light "I give up," before the two girls turned to their food with vigour.

After they finished their dinner, Jacqueline held Lily to her promise of the previous evening. "Come on, you told me you would show me your new rooms tonight. I've been looking forward to it all day." She spotted Lily's sceptical expression. "Well, not all day." Lily still looked sceptical. "Okay, I actually just remembered now. But I'm still excited," she said defensively as Lily laughed. "Let's go!"

The two girls left the Great Hall and made their way up towards Lily's room. After nearly five minutes of walking, Jacqueline opened her mouth to ask how much longer it would take to get there when they rounded yet another corner and came upon (unbeknownst to Jacqueline) the entrance. "We're here!" Lily said, leaning over to whisper the password in the little girl's ear. "What?" Lily asked, seeing Jacqueline's exasperated face. "Dumbledore made me promise not to tell!"

Jacqueline opened her mouth to respond, but was distracted by the sight that was unveiled when the portrait swung open. "Wow!" Jacqueline exclaimed, stepping into the common room. "This is amazing! All this for just the two of you?" she asked, walking to the centre of the room and spinning in a slow circle so that she could examine everything.

Lily smiled at the look of amazement on her friend's face, thinking of what her own face must have looked like the night before when she saw it. She dragged Jacqueline all over the large common room, showing her everything she had discovered the night before.

"And look! There's enough room for all of my books, plus any of James'!"

"See? Right onto the Quidditch pitch!"

"It'll be perfect in winter, it's always nice to have a fireplace."

After the two girls had finished examining the room, Lily brought her up the staircase, where she first showed Jacqueline the bathroom (Wow, look at all the taps!) before taking her to her own room, where Jacqueline again exclaimed over the beauty. After the tour was finished, the girls settled onto Lily's bed for a round of girl talk, which included, amongst other things, their first day of school, Adrian, and Sirius.

Some time later, Jacqueline glanced at her watch only to jump up in surprise. "Shit! I've got to go! I've got homework to do, and it's getting really late!" Lily looked at her own watch, taken aback by how much time had passed. She walked Jacqueline down to the portrait hole, where the two bid each other good night.

"I'll see you at breakfast! Bye, Lily!" Jacqueline called over her shoulder as she jogged down the hall.

"Bye!" Lily called to her friend's retreating back before letting the portrait close. James still wasn't back from wherever it was he went, so Lily decided to settle onto the couch to do some light reading. She figured that she had done enough homework for the day, so she would spend the rest of the evening doing nothing serious. She pulled her latest romance novel, something light that was set in Victorian England, off the bookshelf and settled herself onto the couch.

As soon as she sat down, Lily pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself as she tucked her feet under her. She was feeling very comfortable, very cozy, and very sleepy as she began reading. She hadn't even made it to the first kiss before she had dozed off.

Lily was awoken an unknown amount of time later to the sound of the portrait hole closing. She opened her eyes to see James walking towards the staircase.

"What time is it?" Lily asked groggily, rubbing her eyes as she stood up.

"Nearly midnight," James answered. "Did you fall asleep down here?"

"Yeah," Lily replied as she walked towards the staircase James was standing on. "I guess I was more tired than I thought," she said, covering up a yawn. "I feel like I could sleep for a year."

"I know what you mean," James said, covering up a yawn of his own. By this time they had reached the top of the stairs and had both turned to go their separate ways.

"Night," James said to Lily.

"Night, James. See you tomorrow," Lily said, walking to her door.

Lily entered her bedroom, where she changed into her pyjamas before walking into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Just as she walked back into her room and closed her door, she heard James enter the bathroom.

Lily dropped onto her bed with a tired sigh, falling asleep as soon as she had pulled the covers over herself.

* * *

A few days later Lily entered the Heads' common room after her classes and, for the first time, James was there ahead of her. "Hi," Lily said, surprised. James generally wasn't in the common room that much. Granted, it was only the first week of school, so they hadn't really established a routine yet.

"Hey," James replied distractedly, not looking up from what he was writing. He was sitting at the long desk and had his Potions textbook open in front of him, and all appearances lead Lily to believe that he had started working on the essay Professor Slughorn had assigned them.

Lily decided to take a leaf out of James' book and also begin the essay. She sat down at the other half of the desk and pulled out all of her supplies, trying not to disturb James as she did so.

The two worked in a companionable silence, broken every now and then as one of them asked the other a question. Both of them did fairly well in Potions, but it wasn't either of their strongest subjects, so there were times when one of them would get stuck on the measurement of newt eyes, or the amount of times a potion had to be stirred.

They had been working for nearly an hour, and Lily's mind had begun to drift. She was looking out the window at the lovely day and thinking how nice it would be to be outside when James suddenly pulled her out of her reverie. "Um, Lily? Can I ask you a favour?"

Lily jumped slightly. The room had been silent for quite awhile. "Sure, what do you need?" she asked quizzically, turning to look at James wondering what on earth James could _possibly_ need from _her_, of all people.

"Would you be able to look over my essay so far?" he questioned, somewhat awkwardly. At Lily's blank look, he elaborated. "You know, proofread it? You're better in Potions than I am. I know we're not really friends but… I could really use the help."

"Oh! Oh, of course," Lily said, shaking her head to clear it. She had still been thinking of the day outside and had been rather slow on the uptake. "Well, if I do yours, can you look at mine?" At James' nod of agreement, the two exchanged essays and settled down in silence once more.

A short while later, Lily was just writing a final suggestion on the bottom of James' semi-complete essay when he returned hers to her, edited in full. Lily looked it over and found some surprisingly good ideas from James written on it. "Thanks, I was really having a hard time with that part. Your phrasing is much less awkward," she said, referring to a passage in her essay that had been giving her trouble.

"No problem," James replied leaning back in his chair. They sat in silence for a moment, before James sighed and turned back to his essay. Lily also sighed, but she followed suit, knowing it would be better to get the essay out of the way,

The two continued to work until it was time for dinner, then they walked down together, where they split up to sit with their respective friends.

This was the beginning of a routine. Nearly everyday Lily and James could be found in the Heads' common room after classes, doing their homework together, usually in silence. They each took comfort in the fact that if they ever got stuck on something, the other would almost invariably know the answer.

The routine did not extend to after dinner. Once the meal was over, one never really knew what Lily or James might be doing. Sometimes one or both of them would stay in the Heads' Rooms, reading or napping or any number of things, or, more often than not, they would go to the Gryffindor Common Room to see their friends. James also had Quidditch practice to contend with, which started up in mid-September. After all, he had to keep in peak condition, as he was the star Chaser of the Gryffindor team, not to mention their Captain.

However, just because Lily and James worked together didn't mean they had become friends. They didn't bother attempting conversation about anything not work-related, as they knew how that inevitably turned out. Also, it was never set in stone that After Classes Lily And James Do Homework In The Common Room. If one of them had something else to do, or simply didn't want to do their homework at that point in time, they wouldn't. Neither felt they owed the other an explanation. It was a very loose arrangement.

Still, the two did work well together and were always quite productive. The only times that Lily wished for a different partner as Head Boy was during their share of the evening patrols. It wasn't that the patrols were awkward, as Lily and James were quite used to silence while in the vicinity of one another. It was the fact that the patrols were the most boring few hours Lily had ever had to endure. Walking the halls for hours at a time with no distractions was enough to drive anyone mad.

* * *

Between schoolwork, Jacqueline, Sirius, and all of her Head Girl duties, it was with great surprise that Lily looked at her calendar and realized that she had already been back at school for three weeks. It was a Saturday morning and Lily was very excited. Today was Gryffindor's first Quidditch match; they were playing Ravenclaw. Lily was planning on meeting Jacqueline at breakfast and then going with her to watch the game. Sirius was on the Gryffindor team (a Beater) and Adrian was on the Ravenclaw team (the Keeper), so both girls were especially excited to see their men in action.

After dressing warmly, as the weather had turned suddenly cool, Lily walked out of her room, down the stairs, and into an empty common room. She wasn't surprised that James was already gone, as he was Gryffindor's Captain and a Chaser. She hoped to see Sirius at breakfast, as she wanted to wish him luck.

Lily joined Jacqueline at the Gryffindor table with a smile. "Hey Jacqueline! Are you excited?" she asked, pouring maple syrup onto the pancakes she had just put on her plate. Jacqueline nodded vigorously, her mouth full. "Have you decided who to cheer for yet?" Lily asked sympathetically. Jacqueline was in quite a dilemma, as she was a Gryffindor, and her almost-boyfriend played for Ravenclaw.

Jacqueline swallowed her food before answering. "It's so hard! On the exterior, I obviously want Gryffindor to win, but deep down, I'm also hoping Ravenclaw wins, just to make Adrian happy," she said with a groan, dropping her head into her arms. "I'm so torn!"

"Speaking of Adrian," Lily said, pointing her fork over towards the Ravenclaw table, "I think he wants to talk to you. He's coming this way."

Jacqueline immediately brightened. "Ooooh, I want to wish him luck!" she said, jumping over the bench and running towards him without a backward glance at Lily.

Lily laughed at the fact that Jacqueline would drop anything for Adrian. Their relationship had been escalating rapidly in the past weeks. They had gone to Hogsmeade together, and Lily knew it was only a matter of time before they became official. _Who knows_, Lily thought, _if Adrian's in a good mood after the match, it could be today_.

Lily glanced down towards the end of the Gryffindor table, where the Quidditch players were congregated, discussing last-minute tactics over toast. They were starting to stand up, getting ready to go down to the Pitch. Lily also stood up, making her way over to the team.

"Hey, Sirius!" Lily called, getting her boyfriend's attention as she walked over to him. He turned towards her and gave her a big smile and a hug. "I wanted to wish you good luck today. Not that you need it," Lily said, pulling back to look up at Sirius' grinning face.

"Thanks, Lily. You know I don't play as well when you don't wish me good luck." Lily smiled at Sirius' thoughtfulness, even though she knew he played well no matter what. Either way, it was still a kind thing to say. She gave him a good-luck kiss before shooing him back to his team, who were still grouped together and talking intensely, slowly making their way towards the doors.

Just as Lily was about to turn away, she inadvertently made eye contact with James. The two looked at each other for a moment. _Good luck,_ Lily finally mouthed before turning to find Jacqueline, who was still at the table.

Lily went back to the table, where Jacqueline was finishing her eggs with a dreamy look on her face. "Hey," Lily said. "What's up with you?"

"Hmm?" Jacqueline asked, looking at Lily with her chin in the palm of her hand. "Oh, Adrian wants to hang out after the game today. We're going to go for a walk"

"Ohhh," Lily said, smirking at Jacqueline. "A 'walk', you say. And what are you going to do on this 'walk', hmm?"

Jacqueline flushed. "Shut up, Lily! We're just going to talk!" she exclaimed, giving Lily a light punch on the arm.

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" Lily asked innocently, poking at her pancakes with her fork.

Jacqueline muttered something under her breath before standing up. "Ready to go? We should leave now if we want good seats," she said, wrapping her Gryffindor scarf around her neck.

"Alright," Lily said, standing up and finishing the last of her pumpkin juice. "Let's go."

The two girls left the castle and began to walk towards the Pitch. It was a cloudy day, with a slight nip in the air. "It's a great day for Quidditch," Jacqueline said, shading her eyes with a hand as she looked around. "The sun won't get into anybody's eyes, and the wind's not too strong."

Lily looked at her friend in surprise. Since when had Jacqueline become so interested in Quidditch? "Whatever you say," Lily said with a smirk. "You're apparently the expert. Why is it, again, that you're suddenly so interested in Quidditch?" she asked innocently, already knowing the answer, but wanting to give Jacqueline a bit of a hard time. By now, the girls had reached the Pitch and were looking for seats.

"Shut up!" Jacqueline said with a blush, not looking at Lily, but instead scanning the bleachers. Lily laughed before leading them to seats in the second row of the Gryffindor section. They made themselves comfortable, Lily still poking fun at Jacqueline about Adrian.

At the mean look Jacqueline gave her, Lily raised her hands in mock defence. "Hey, don't blame me. I'm just getting you back for all the times you teased me about Sirius!" she said, remembering the hell Jacqueline had put her through in fifth year when she had begun to date Sirius. "You were always ribbing me about him!"

Jacqueline paused for a moment before admitting grudgingly, "Alright, I guess that's fair. But it's not nearly as annoying when you're the one doing the teasing," she added sulkily.

Lily nodded in agreement. "Now you know how I felt."

Just then, the commentator, a fifth year Hufflepuff got the attention of the crowd by announcing, "And here comes…. GRYFFINDOR!"

* * *

Two and a half hours later, the exciting game was over, the Gryffindor Seeker going into a spectacular dive and catching the Snitch moments before the Ravenclaw Seeker would have caught it. Gryffindor won, 210-80.

As soon as the Snitch was caught, both Lily and Jacqueline leapt out of their seats to go down onto the Pitch to congratulate/commiserate with their favourite players. They split at the bottom of the stands, Jacqueline haring off to find Adrian, and Lily going to find her own boyfriend.

She found the Gryffindor team easily enough, as they were surrounded by happy fans. She was trying to move through the tightly packed crowd, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Sirius. She was making good progress through the crowd when she stumbled as someone bumped into her shoulder. She was kept from falling as the person grabbed her forearm tightly. Lily turned, and found herself eye-to-eye with James. Well, more eye-to-top-of-neck, if truth be told. "Thanks," she said as James let go of her arm. "Good game," she added politely, noting that he looked slightly better than usual in his Quidditch robes. Not that that was saying too much. Not that Lily found James ugly, by any means. He just… wasn't her type.

"Thank you," James replied, nodding at her. The two then stood there for a minute, neither knowing what to say. "Well," James finally said, breaking the somewhat uncomfortable silence. "Sirius is over that way," he said, pointing towards the outer edges of the crowd. "He said he was looking for you."

Lily followed his finger, just barely managing to see the top of Sirius' head through the mob of people. "Thanks, James," she said, turning back to him. "I better go congratulate him."

"No problem," James responded. They stood there looking at each other for another moment longer.

"Right," Lily said, just as James said, "Okay." They stopped again, looking at each other, each waiting for the other to say something. Finally, Lily cleared her throat and they simultaneously turned and walked away.

Lily scanned the crowd before her, as she had lost Sirius again during the awkward encounter with James. It was odd, she thought, as she stood on the tips of her toes, trying to see over the crowd. She thought they had gotten over their awkward stage by deciding not to be friends. Apparently not. She sighed as she finally spotted Sirius chatting with the other Beater. Lily carefully snuck up behind him, putting a finger to her lips when the other Beater saw her. She placed her hands over Sirius' eyes to surprise him, but before she could say anything, he had turned in her arms and engulfed her in a huge hug. "Lily! I was wondering where you were!" he said before leaning down to kiss her.

When they finally came up for air, Lily said, somewhat breathlessly, "I wanted to congratulate you. You were in top form today," she said, giving him an appreciative look up and down. "Not that you aren't always." Sirius grinned before leaning down and kissing her again.

They made small talk with the other Quidditch players for a while, before they excused themselves. The two wandered back towards the castle, holding hands all the way. They meandered slowly in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room, enjoying spending time together. By the time they eventually reached the Gryffindor Common Room, a raucous party had already broken out.

They had barely entered the room before they heard a voice behind them. "Hey!" the person said, right before he slung his arms over their shoulders, wedging his way in between them. "Great game, Sirius!" Remus said, turning to look at his friend. "You almost knocked that Ravenclaw chaser of his broom!"

Sirius laughed, taking the butterbeer Remus offered him and giving it to Lily before grabbing one of his own. "I know, that was a pretty great shot, eh?"

Lily left the two of them to chat for a while, seeing James and Peter also making their way to the boys. Lily decided they should have their time to rehash the Quidditch match in great, gory detail. Lily wandered over towards a table heaped with food and drinks. It was obvious Remus and Peter had made a trip to Hogsmeade as well as the kitchens. She quickly searched the room for Jacqueline, but couldn't spot her friend anywhere. _Hmm… She must be with Adrian still_, she surmised.

Lily found some other girls in her year and chatted with them for a while, talking about this and that. The school year, the Quidditch game (briefly), boys (in far more detail), and the newest and hottest wizarding band, The Talking Brooms. As the girls began to wander off, Lily felt Sirius come up behind her and wrap his arms around her neck. "Hey," he said, kissing her cheek from behind.

"Hey," Lily said, turning in his arms and looping her own arms around his waist. "Want to get out of here? We can go back to my place," Lily purred seductively into Sirius' ear. "We'll be the only ones there. We can… talk," Lily added meaningfully, as she gently bit his earlobe. Sirius groaned and then proceeded to drag Lily from the room and practically run to the Head Tower, Lily laughing all the way.

The two actually did end up talking most of the evening, cuddled up together on the couch in front of the fireplace, which had a roaring fire, thanks to Sirius. They were so comfortable together, having been together for so long. They rotated between talking, kissing, and just sitting in comfortable silence. They had never gone further than kissing, though they had talked about it. Lily just didn't feel she was ready. Sirius understood this and never pressured her, which made Lily love him even more.

They whiled away the rest of the evening in this fashion, and Lily enjoyed herself more than she had in a long time. They eventually ended up falling asleep on the couch, Lily wrapped in Sirius' arms, the both of them still smiling.

_He's irresistible,  
Up close and personal,  
Now inescapable,  
I can hardly breathe. More than just  
Physical, deeper than spiritual,  
His ways are powerful,  
And irresistible to me._

_- Irresistible, Jessica Simpson_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.

AN: For anyone who read the previous chapters when they were originally posted, you may want to go back and re-read them. I've changed a few things, not too many, but you may be confused if you don't go back over them.

_Tell me all that you've thrown away,  
Find out games you don't wanna play,  
You are the only one that needs to know._

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret.  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret,  
My dirty little secret.  
Who has to know?_

_When we live such fragile lives,  
It's the best way we survive.  
I go around a time or two,  
Just to waste my time with you._

_The way she feels inside ,  
Those thoughts I can't deny.  
These sleeping dogs won't lie,  
And all I've tried to hide,  
It's eating me apart,  
Trace this life out._

_- Dirty Little Secret, The All-American Rejects_

Chapter Three

It turned out Lily had been right. Jacqueline had been with Adrian after the match. And he had officially asked her to be his girlfriend. Jacqueline was through the roof, and Lily got to hear every detail of their blossoming relationship.

"And then he says to me, you know what he says? It was so cute! He says…" Lily tried in vain to block Jacqueline's voice out of her mind, but to no avail. She really didn't need to be hearing what sweet nothings Adrian had been telling Jacqueline, especially this early in the morning. Lily figured Jacqueline was doing it for revenge. Lily had probably been just as bad when she started dating Sirius, and Jacqueline had likely sat through many a one-sided conversation about all of Sirius' wonderful attributes. Jacqueline had probably been biding her time ever since, just waiting to strike back in turn. Which she was now. With a vengeance.

"Uh huh, that's nice," Lily said, not even looking up from the scrambled eggs she was swirling around on her plate. She had her head resting on her left hand, elbow propped on the table, and she felt as though she were about to fall asleep. All she could hear from Jacqueline was "Blah, blah, blah, Adrian. Blah, Adrian, Adrian, blah." It got quite boring after awhile.

"Are you even listening?" Jacqueline finally demanded, banging her fork onto the table for emphasis.

"Huh, wassat?" Lily asked, straightening up, before she realized what Jacqueline had asked her. "Of course I was listening. You were just talking about Adrian's… eyes?" she hazarded, thinking that was as good a guess as any.

"Lily!" Jacqueline said exasperatedly, throwing her hands into the air. "We finished talking about his eyes ages ago. We're talking about his sense of humour now. Come on, do you know how much crap I had to put up with when you started dating Sirius?" she asked, before putting on a high-pitched voice. "'Sirius this, Sirius that. Blah, blah, blah. I love Sirius'. Well, now it's my turn," Jacqueline added, confirming Lily's earlier suspicion that Jacqueline was doing this out of revenge.

"I'm sorry," Lily said, pasting on the most sincere face she could dredge up at such an ungodly hour. "It's just… it's so early! Can't we at least wait until lunch to talk about Adrian? Give a girl a chance to wake up first?"

Jacqueline laughed as she poured herself some orange juice. "Fine, fine, you win. No more right now."

"Thank you," Lily sighed, slumping down into her seat and closing her eyes only to be disturbed a moment later by Jacqueline's voice.

"Um, Lily?" Jacqueline said.

"What," Lily snapped, her eyes still closed, not even lifting her head.

Jacqueline looked at her in amusement. Lily was _not_ a morning person. Never had been. "It's time for class. We've got Transfiguration first."

Lily groaned but stood up all the same. "Fine, let's go," she grumbled before grabbing one more slice of toast for the road and walking out of the room, leaving Jacqueline to have to hurry to catch up to her grumpy friend.

* * *

"Sirius, I'm not kidding! She's driving me batty!" Lily exclaimed. Classes were over for the day and Sirius and Lily were taking advantage of one of the last semi-warm days of the year. "If I hear the name 'Adrian' one more time, I'm going to have to kill someone! I swear!" Lily continued. This rant had been going on for quite awhile. Lily was trying to garner some sympathy from Sirius, but it didn't seem to be working.

"Cut her some slack. Hasn't she liked this guy for ages?" Sirius asked practically. Lily wasn't in the mood to be practical.

"So," she huffed. "You don't understand! Today, she talked about Adrian's teeth for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes! His teeth! Not even his smile! Argh, she's-" Lily broke off as she heard Sirius snort. "It's not funny," Lily said, letting out a smile of her own. "Think of my sanity!"

Sirius wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her closer to him. "Don't kid yourself. You were never sane," he joked.

"I know," Lily agreed, gaining a surprised look from Sirius. "That's why I'm dating you," she finished, poking him in the ribs.

"Har, har," Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

By this time, the two had reached the lake and had a perfect view of the setting sun. Lily stepped into Sirius' arms and laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a sigh as she did so. "This is where we took our first walk, all that time ago. Remember?" she asked, turning her head so that she could see Sirius' face. He smiled softly at her.

"How could I forget? You looked so beautiful in the setting sun," he said, running a finger across her cheek. "Almost as beautiful as you look right now."

Lily smiled and leaned against Sirius once more. "Thanks, Sirius. You're beautiful, too." They both laughed before just enjoying the beauty of the setting sun before them. These were the moments when Lily was happiest. Moments when she was with Sirius.

* * *

It had been just over a month since the Quidditch match, and was now nearing the end of October. Everyone had finally settled back into life at Hogwarts, and Lily was really enjoying her job as Head Girl. Not to mention, she also loved that she had her own room. After six years of sharing, it was a bit of a change.

When Lily entered the Great Hall for lunch on a windy day in late October, all the talk she heard was about Hogsmeade. "Hey," she said, dropping onto the bench across from Jacqueline. "I forgot this weekend was the first Hogsmeade weekend. You know what that means, don't you?" she asked, reaching for the bacon.

"You bet," Jacqueline said, food still in her mouth. "It's our annual girls' day out!" She laughed at the look of disgust that crossed Lily's face every time she talked with her mouth full.

Lily shook her head before deciding to let it slide. "Yeah! I love those days! Shopping, butterbeers, chocolates from Honeydukes…" she said, letting out a sigh, a dreamy expression coming onto her face. The two girls chatted for a while about what they were going to do when they went into Hogsmeade together on Saturday.

The whole tradition of the first Hogsmeade weekend being a girls' day out had started in fourth year. That was the year that Lily and Jacqueline both started to date boys, meaning that usually one or both of them would have dates to Hogsmeade. Due to this fact, they never went together anymore, a problem Jacqueline fixed by declaring the first Hogsmeade weekend of every year a girls' day out. No boys were allowed at all on that day.

As Jacqueline continued to chat about the different shops they would go into on Saturday, Lily half-listened as she glanced around the crowded room. She peered down the Gryffindor table and spotted Sirius. She watched him for a moment as he chatted animatedly with Remus. She continued to peruse the table when she suddenly caught James' eye. The two held the eye contact for a moment before Lily turned back to Jacqueline and James turned back to Sirius, Remus and Peter. Lily tuned into what Jacqueline was currently saying about Madame Puddifoot's, all images of James Potter pushed out of her mind, as they should be.

* * *

What felt like a year later, the end of the week finally came, bringing Lily and Jacqueline's girls' day out. When Lily awoke on Saturday morning, she was in a terrific mood. Nothing was going to spoil her day. She got out of bed humming a popular new song and danced her way into the bathroom, which was empty, as she knew it would be. James had already left for Hogsmeade with Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

Sirius had told Lily they would be leaving bright and early so they could spend as much time in Hogsmeade as possible. The boys never seemed to get sick of it, no matter how often they went. Which was far more often than any other student, due to the secret entrance that Sirius had told Lily about last year.

Lily pulled herself back into the present and smiled at herself in the mirror before brushing her teeth, attempting to hum at the same time. She turned the shower on, adjusted the temperature, and stepped in. Once she was in the shower, Lily progressed to full-blown singing, belting out all of her old favourites.

She enjoyed a lengthy shower, just standing under the stream, feeling the water beat into her shoulders and back. After she finished her shower, she got dressed, brushed her hair, put on a little makeup, and, _voila_. She was ready to go.

She went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, which was where she was supposed to meet Jacqueline for their big day. Lily reached the hall and looked around for Jacqueline, but, for once, Lily was the first one there. She sat down and put some pancakes on her plate, then smothered them in maple syrup. She began to eat, thinking about the day ahead.

"Hey!" Jacqueline said, coming up behind Lily and causing her to jump in her seat, taken completely by surprise. She choked on the bite of pancake in her mouth and started coughing, trying to dislodge it.

"Jacqueline!" Lily said, once she could breath again. "Don't _do_ that! You know I hate it!" Jacqueline smirked at her before taking the seat opposite.

"Sorry," she said insincerely, flashing her a big, fake grin. Lily glared at her half-heartedly as she took a gulp of juice to wash down all the bits of pancake.

The two girls ate their breakfast quickly, as they wanted to make it to Hogsmeade as soon as possible. Once they were done, they hurried into the Entrance Hall and into the line at the front doors.

Once they had finally made it past Filch and out into the open air, they both took deep breaths of the crisp fall day. They began to amble down the path that lead to Hogsmeade, chatting about whatever came to mind.

"So, how's Adrian?" Lily asked, gingerly, praying that she wouldn't set Jacqueline off into another Adrian-inspired tangent. She looked up from the ground just in time to see a slight blush stain Jacqueline's cheeks. She smiled softly, looking into the distance. "Oh, Lily, I really like him," she said happily. "I think he's really good for me. He just makes me… really, really happy. I don't know how else to explain it," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

Lily looked at her friend. Really looked at her. Jacqueline really did appear happy. Her eyes were bright, her cheeks were flushed, and she couldn't stop smiling. Lily knew these signs. She had seen them in the mirror when she had started dating Sirius. Jacqueline was falling hard and fast for Adrian. Lily frowned a little, realizing that she no longer saw that expression on her face when she looked into the mirror. She shrugged, brushing it off as something that faded when a couple was together for a long time.

She turned back to her friend. "Jacqueline, I'm really happy for you," Lily said sincerely. "You've liked him for so long. I'm glad things are going so well." And she was. She was happy that Jacqueline was happy.

Jacqueline smiled again and turned to look at Lily. "Thanks, that means a lot to me, to know that you like Adrian," she said. Then she shook her head, as though to clear thoughts of Adrian out. "Anyways, that's enough about Adrian. We talk about him all the time, and I know you're getting sick of it," Jacqueline said, grinning at Lily, who had the grace to flush slightly. "No, don't worry," Jacqueline added, seeing Lily's embarrassment. "I don't blame you. If I didn't like him so much, I would get sick of talking about him too." She clapped her hands after this. "So, change of subject. How is it working with James Potter?"

Lily was surprised by the new topic of conversation, as she and Jacqueline had never really talked about James. "Oh, it's fine," Lily said with a shrug. "He was a good choice for Head Boy," she said before deciding to elaborate. "He always does his fair share, and he's… responsible," she finished, not really knowing what else to say.

Jacqueline looked as though she was waiting for more. "And… what's he like?" she finally asked, looking at Lily with avid attention. Lily gave her an odd look, so Jacqueline explained her interest. "Come on! He's one of the most popular guys in Gryffindor! I was just wondering what he's really like."

Lily nodded at this. It seemed as though every house had it's own group of 'popular' people, and in Gryffindor, it was James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Though Peter was only popular through association. They had managed to gain this title all the way back in fourth year, and had upheld it till now. Lily didn't know what Gryffindor would do next year when the boys graduated.

Not only did each house have a group of popular people, but they all knew each other. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all friends with the group of popular girls from Ravenclaw, and the popular couple from Hufflepuff. They also knew the popular group from Slytherin, but since it consisted primarily of Narcissa and Bellatrix Black, and had included Lucius Malfoy until he had graduated, they were not on the friendliest terms.

Lily cleared her throat, coming back to the present conversation. Right, James Potter. "Well…" Lily said hesitantly "He's nice enough, I guess. I don't really know what he's like, though. We don't really talk." Jacqueline gave her a weird look. "What? It's not like we actually see each other all that much."

Jacqueline gave her a disbelieving look. "Don't you two do your homework together pretty much everyday?" she asked pointedly.

Lily rolled her eyes in response. "So? We do _homework_. We don't socialize. We hardly ever talk about anything not homework or Head student related."

Jacqueline remained silent for a moment, looking at her feet and kicking a rock ahead of her on the path. "That's kind of weird, you know that right?" she finally asked, looking at Lily. "I mean, you two _live_ together. You think you would know _something _about each other," she continued.

Lily shrugged, looking unconcerned. "It works for us," she said, before turning the subject to which shop they should go into first, as they had just arrived at the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

The girls spent the morning going in and out of all kinds of different shops. By the time they were hungry for lunch, their pockets were much emptier and their arms were much fuller. Lily looked at all of her bags as the girls walked to the Three Broomsticks for some sustenance and a break.

Lily was on a budget, as she couldn't work during the school year, due to her schooling. Therefore, most of the items in her bags were not very expensive. However, she had a bit of a shoe fetish, and had allowed herself to buy one new pair of shoes. They were a pair of emerald-green stilettos with an almost impossibly high heel and a ribbon that tied around the ankle. Lily had drooled at the sight of them, and she knew her life wouldn't be complete if she didn't buy them.

Other than the shoes, she had picked up a few new romance novels, some school supplies, and a shirt she had found on sale. Jacqueline fared about the same, as she too was on a budget.

"Don't you just hate those rich kids?" Lily asked Jacqueline, thinking about how some people could always buy anything they wanted to, because their parents would routinely send them money.

Jacqueline spun towards Lily so quickly that Lily jumped in surprise. "I _know_! It's _awful_!" she said with a surprising amount of emphasis. "If I was rich, I could have bought that adorable dress! Even though I don't have anywhere to where it," she added with a rueful smile.

While shopping earlier, they had stopped into a little shop, and Jacqueline had spotted an adorable little red dress. It hit just below the knees and flared when she twirled in it. And the bright red had suited Jacqueline's golden complexion. But, alas, there was absolutely nowhere to where a dress at Hogwarts. Jacqueline felt the same about dresses that Lily felt about shoes, so she could commiserate with her friend.

The two entered the Three Broomsticks and sighed at the warmth within. It was quite chilly outside, and there was a stiff wind blowing. They glanced around for an empty table, but everywhere seemed to be full.

"Wow, it's crowded," Jacqueline said to Lily. Usually there were a couple of empty tables or booths, but not today. However, they _had_ come at peak lunch hour, which probably explained it.

Lily sighed. "I guess we could always-" she started, before being cut off.

"Lily! Jacqueline! Over here!" they suddenly heard from behind them. The girls turned to see a few girls from Ravenclaw that they were friends with, sitting in a booth by a window. The girls were waving their hands and gesturing for them to join them. "Come sit with us!" a blond girl called.

Lily and Jacqueline made their way through the crowd and over to the girls. "Hey," Lily said, plopping into an empty seat. "Thank Merlin you guys were here! All the other tables were full," she said, motioning to the hustle and bustle that surrounded them.

"I know," one of the girls said brightly. "It's insane in here. Oh, here comes Madam Rosmerta to take your orders." Jacqueline and Lily each ordered, before turning back to the Ravenclaw girls. They all began chatting about a bit of everything: classes, the Professors, which boy was the best looking. They couldn't come to a unanimous decision on the last point, but Sirius, James, and Adrian were all in the running.

It was a typical 'girl talk' and Lily enjoyed herself. She loved just being a girl. Once their food came, the talking quieted somewhat as everybody ate. As they ate, they continued to chat.

"Who do you think has the best chance in Quidditch this year?" Lily asked casually, leaning back in her chair. A chorus of groans arose at the question. "What?" Lily asked in confusion.

"Seriously? You want to talk about Quidditch? Seriously?" Jacqueline asked. Many, many girls at Hogwarts cringed at the mere mention of Quidditch, due to the undivided attention the males of the school paid it. Not to say that no girls played Quidditch, but in general, it was mainly a male sport.

"Hey," Lily said with a laugh. "I'm dating a Quidditch player, and my roommate is our team's captain. I can't help if it rubbed off on me!" The girls all agreed reluctantly and shared their views briefly before changing the subject to whether Professor Slughorn had put on more weight.

A few minutes later, one of the girls suddenly turned to Lily. "Speaking of your roommate," she said, although they hadn't been. "What _is_ it like, living with James?" she asked with interest. The other girls immediately stopped all conversation and turned to Lily with rapt expressions.

Lily raised her eyebrows as she saw the fervent interest. "Well, it's fine," she hedged, not knowing what they wanted to hear. "We don't really talk all that much. We have nothing in common."

The girls all groaned in disappointment. "Come on!" one of the girls exclaimed. "Well, what does he sleep in?"

Lily gave her an odd look. "How on earth would I _possibly _know what James Potter wears to bed? We sleep in separate rooms!"

The girl wouldn't be deterred, however. "What does he do in his spare time? Does he work out? He looks like he works out."

Lily was starting to get annoyed. "I don't know. Why are you so interested, anyways?" she asked giving the girl a suspicious look.

"Yeah," one of the other girls added. "Are you starting a James Potter fan club? Cause you may be able to convince me to join!" she joked.

The girl who had been questioning Lily blushed a little. "Well, with Sirius and Adrian off the market, James is one of the only really, really gorgeous guys left in our school. I just wanted to know what he was like," she explained, blushing even more.

Lily wrinkled her nose. "Really? You think he's gorgeous? He's alright, I guess," she said, to most of the other girls' horror, "if you like that tall, lean, intelligent thing. He's nothing compared to Sirius, though. But he's all mine, so don't get any ideas!"

The girls laughed and finished off their butterbeers before they all got ready to leave. "Well, we're gonna go do some window shopping," Jacqueline told the other girls, shooting Lily a questioning look to see if that was alright. At Lily's nod, she continued. "So we'll see you later. Have fun!" And with that, Lily and Jacqueline left the girls behind and escaped into the outside world.

"Whew," Lily said once they had left the restaurant. "I do like those girls, but too much more time spent with them and I might have begun to lose IQ points!"

Jacqueline laughed before agreeing. "I know what you mean. They're fun in small doses. Can you imagine being around them all the time? 'Like, oh my God, you won't _believe_ what I just heard,'" she imitated, throwing in a shrill giggle for good measure.

Lily cracked up, which caused Jacqueline to do the same. "Oh, don't be mean! They're nice!" Lily reprimanded, trying to stop laughing, but to no avail.

"Yeah, I know," Jacqueline said, not looking at all apologetic. "They're just a bit ditzy."

Lily agreed, and the two girls continued to amble down the street, looking in the shop windows as they passed. They had already done all of their necessary shopping for the day, but they didn't want to go back to the castle so early.

Eventually, they reached the outskirts of the village, and could just make out the Shrieking Shack, looking deceptively innocent in the late afternoon sun. They automatically walked towards it, as most Hogwarts students did.

Lily looked at the Shack for a moment before giving an involuntary shiver. "That place has always creeped me out," she told Jacqueline, who nodded in agreement.

"Me too," she said, also looking at it. "My dad told me all kinds of scary stories about it right before I came here. I had nightmares for weeks! I _still_ can't look at the place without remembering what he told me!" she exclaimed vehemently. Lily laughed, as she knew Jacqueline's father and knew he loved nothing better than to tease Jacqueline. But in a nice way, of course.

The girls stood by the Shrieking Shack for a little while longer, just chatting, before Jacqueline checked her watch. "Hey, we should probably be getting back," she commented. "It's starting to get late. Dinner's gonna start soon."

Lily looked at her own watch and was surprised to see how much time had passed. "Yeah, let's go," she agreed

So Lily and Jacqueline began the somewhat lengthy walk back to the castle. They weren't in a rush, but they didn't walk quite as slowly as they had on the way there, as it was going to get dark soon.

The girls didn't say much on the walk back. They were both preoccupied with other thoughts. Lily was thinking about how glad she was that she and Jacqueline had made sure to have their girls' day, as much as their respective boyfriends had complained. It was good for the girls totake time away from their boyfriends and just hang out. Especially since they'd be with their boyfriends on every other Hogsmeade trip.

As they neared the gates that surrounded Hogwarts, Lily smiled a bit. As much as she loved Hogsmeade, she was always happy to get back to Hogwarts.

Once the girls had entered the school, they began the long trek up the stairs together. Before they went to dinner, they wanted to drop all of their purchases off in their particular rooms, hence the reason they were climbing the steps. Once they reached the point where the paths to the Heads' Rooms and the Gryffindor Tower diverged, they split up.

Lily reached the Heads' Rooms, and, upon entrance, she noted that James wasn't back yet. She walked to her room, where she unceremoniously dumped her bags on her bed before turning on her heel and leaving the room. As she walked through the common room, she felt contented. _Today was a good day,_ she thought, before leaving the rooms again to go and fill her ravenous stomach.

* * *

_It's weird_, Lily thought, peering surreptitiously at James as she worked on some Arithmancy problems a couple of nights later. _It never used to be awkward between us_.

Lily and James were each doing their homework in the common room, and Lily had noticed an increased tension between them, which was odd, as they had always been able to peacefully co-exist in the past. However, for whatever reason, she couldn't deny that it was getting more and more uncomfortable to be around him. She figured it was because they were working together and living together but still weren't friends. She didn't know what else it could possibly be.

The two of them continued to do their homework together after class most days, and this day was a perfect example of the average course this time together would take. Which meant that they had been working in complete silence for well over an hour.

Lily could no longer concentrate on her homework, as James had been steadily tapping the point of his quill on the desk for the past five minutes. Every time it would connect with the table, she would twitch imperceptibly. The sound, the only sound in the otherwise silent room, was slowly driving her insane. She needed to get out of there. She enjoyed silence as much as the next person, but this was ridiculous! She stood up abruptly, deciding to go down to dinner. Anything to get out of this oppressive silence. She was somewhat disappointed when she saw James rise at the same moment.

"Oh, are you going to dinner, too, then?" she asked, trying to keep the regret out of her voice. She could only take so much time with someone whom had no interest in befriending her. Not that she wanted to be friends with him, either, but still.

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," James said, closing his books and moving towards the portrait hole.

Lily sighed. "I guess we should walk together then," she said, attempting to inject a cheery tone into her voice.

"I guess we should," James replied, already halfway out the hole. Lily followed him and walked next to him once out in the hall.

They walked in silence for the next five minutes, which were, in all honesty, the longest of Lily's life. She decided to do something drastic. "So, how did you find the Arithmancy homework?" she asked conversationally. Yes, she was so desperate enough for conversation to attempt to have a friendly chat with James.

James didn't even look at her. "It wasn't the easiest we've ever had," he replied, not bothering to reciprocate the niceties.

A fact that Lily blatantly ignored. "Yeah, I agree. I kept inverting my numbers. It was so frustrating!" True. She was beginning to hate Arithmancy.

James didn't bother to reply. They continued to walk in a silence that apparently only Lily found awkward. She looked around, hoping in vain that they were almost at the Great Hall. They weren't. They did, after all, have quite a lengthy walk from the Heads' Rooms to, well, pretty much anywhere in the school. Probably Dumbledore's idea, to make sure they got their exercise, Lily though a bit frantically. She really felt like she was losing her mind from the prolonged silence.

She groped around for something, anything to say. "It's raining again," she blurted somewhat desperately.

"Yes, it is," James said, examining his nails.

She'd go mad as a hatter before they reached the Great Hall! "I like the rain," she said inanely.

"I do too." Or she'd murder him. That might do. Solve all of her problems.

"I guess we're living in the right country." Good point Lily. A very good point.

"I guess we are." She mentally threw her hands into the air. This boy didn't have the social skills of a newt! And that was being polite!

She decided to give one last stab at conversation. "So-"

"Look, we don't have to do this," James said, interrupting her rather rudely.

Lily looked at him sidelong, having no idea what he was talking about. Walk to dinner? Of course they had to! They had to eat, didn't they? "Do what?" she asked, trying to figure out what, exactly, he was referring to.

James rolled his eyes. "Make this stilted conversation. I don't mean to be rude, but we're hardly friends."

Although this was quite true, Lily was still offended. Who was he to be so offensive when she was only trying to make conversation! "Fine," she huffed, speeding her steps and leaving him behind. _Unbearable, incorrigible prat._

Once she (finally) reached the Great Hall, she dropped on the bench across from Jacqueline, letting out an angry huff as she did so.

"What's up with you?" Jacqueline asked, looking up from her plate.

Lily scowled at the bowl of mashed potatoes in front of her. "Nothing," she replied sulkily. Jacqueline said nothing and continued to eat, which just pissed Lily off more. Jacqueline was her best friend! Shouldn't she be trying to find out what was wrong? "James Potter's an ass!" she finally blurted out.

Jacqueline finally raised her eyes to look at Lily. "Why? What'd he do?" she asked, finally showing a bit of interest.

Lily suddenly didn't want to talk about it and began to pick at her food, not feeling very hungry anymore. "Nothing. Never mind. I'm fine," she lied, putting James Potter out of her mind and forcing herself to eat. "So, what did you do today?"

* * *

Later that night, Lily was sitting next to Sirius on a couch in the Gryffindor common room. Sirius was working on some Transfiguration homework, and Lily, who had already finished all of her homework, was reading. Although, currently, she was more preoccupied with watching James play Wizards' Chess against Peter, the two of them laughing and having a great time. She unconsciously narrowed her eyes as she watched them.

"I don't know how you're friends with him," she murmured, barely even realizing that she was speaking out loud.

Sirius looked up from his work. "Who?" he asked, looking around as though they were sitting with a third person that Lily didn't like.

"Hmm?" Lily asked, pulling her eyes away from James. "Oh. James. Do you know what he said to me today?" she asked, and at Sirius' headshake, Lily told him what had happened on the walk down to dinner that day.

Once she reached the end of the story Sirius was nodding sagely. "I see. So you thought you were friends," he said knowledgeably.

Lily angrily shook her head. "No," she told him.

Sirius nodded again. "I see. So you want to be friends," he said knowledgeably.

Lily snorted at the very idea. "No."

Sirius paused and thought for a moment. "Okay… then I'm not following. What are you so upset about?" he asked running a hand through his hair in confusion.

"It's just…" Lily said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Who says that?" she exploded. "Even if it's true, you just don't say that! I was just trying to be polite!"

"I see," Sirius said, turning back to his homework and leaving Lily to stew silently on her own.

However, Lily had spent enough time that day thinking about James Potter. She vowed to put him out of her head permanently. She sighed before turning back to her book and immersing herself in a world that wasn't full of arrogant jackasses, not sparing James another thought.

_Honestly, what will become of me?  
I don't like reality,  
It's way too clear to me.  
But really, life is daily.  
We are what we don't see,  
We missed everything daydreaming._

_Flames to dust,  
Lovers to friends,  
Why do all good things come to an end?_

_- All Good Things Come to An End, Nelly Furtado_


End file.
